Paul Celebrates Rockland's New Tobacco Ban

NEW CITY, NY - From Legislator Aney Paul: Rockland County Legislator Aney Paul is thanking supporters after a proposal to raise the legal age for the sale of tobacco products to 21 has become county law.

“This new law will have real and lasting impacts on the health of our youth,” Legislator Paul said. “The payoff will come in the form of reduced disease and death."

“I want to thank all of the public health advocates who came to speak to legislators in support of this new law,” Legislator Paul said. “I also want to express my gratitude to my legislative colleagues who supported this life-impacting action.”

Legislator Paul, who holds a Doctorate in Nursing Practice and has been a nurse for more than 30 years, was the sponsor of the resolution, which had bipartisan support when it was adopted 12-1 on March 20.

It was then sent to the County Executive. He opted to return it to the Legislature yesterday unsigned versus signing or vetoing it, a move that allowed it to become law. The measure will now be filed with the Secretary of State within the next 10 days, and take effect 90 days after going on file.

The law bans the sale of tobacco products to anyone under the age of 21, including cigarettes, chewing tobacco, cigars, electronic cigarettes, rolling papers and other smoking paraphernalia.

Violators face a civil penalty of up to $2,000 per day per violation in accordance with the Rockland County Sanitary Code. Enforcement of the law falls to the Rockland County Health Department, which already conducts spot checks for under age 18 compliance.

Representatives from numerous public health advocacy organizations addressed the Legislature during the March 20 public hearing on the resolution.

Among the information they provided:

Legislator Paul:

• 96 percent of smokers begin smoking before the age of 21, with most starting before the age of 16.
• The younger people are when they start using tobacco products, the greater their risk of nicotine addiction and heavy daily smoking, and increased difficulty in quitting.

Maureen Kenny, director of POW’R Against Tobacco:

• Tobacco remains the nation’s number one cause of preventable death and disease, killing 480,000 Americans annually, including 28,200 in New York.
• Virtually all of them started using tobacco before the age of 21.
• Each year, 42,400 kids in New York try cigarettes for the first time and 6,900 additional kids become new regular daily smokers.
• Without additional action to reduce tobacco use, 280,000 kids alive in New York today will die early from a tobacco-related disease.

Caitlin O’Brien, Government Relations Director for American Heart Association:

• If a youth reaches the age of 21 before smoking, the chances of them ever doing so drops to only 2 percent.

Kristina Wieneke, Public Policy Director for the American Lung Association in New York:

• There is no safe level of exposure to nicotine.
• For adults, the best approach is cessation. For kids, the best approach is prevention.

Denise Hogan, Project Manager for POW’R Against Tobacco:

• The public health benefits of the projected decline in smoking from raising the age to 21 will take years to realize.
• There be significantly fewer premature deaths, fewer lung cancer deaths, fewer babies will be born premature, and the effects of second hand smoke will decline.

Photo courtesy of Rockland County Legislator Aney Paul